Both seasoned strikers, Young and Smith engaged in an all-out
slugfest for three rounds at the inaugural Invicta FC event on
April 28, before a majority draw was declared. Young and Smith were
awarded “Fight of the Night” honors for their valiant efforts and
the possibility of a rematch has since been a hot topic of
discussion.

To date, the 27-year-old Young has earned six of her seven
professional wins by KO. In her third start, she scored a memorable
KO on former Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate
with a head kick just 30 seconds into their matchup.

Smith, a 31-year-old product of the Cesar Gracie
Academy, went unbeaten (3-0) as an amateur before turning pro on
March 6, 2009 and scoring a third round (4:16) TKO on Louise
Johnson with a series of punches.

The 31-year-old Connor-Hamby boasts a 10-2-2 (4 KO’s) record in
professional boxing. In her MMA debut on June 27, 2009,
Connor-Hamby needed just 20 seconds to stop Crystal
Hamilton with a barrage of punches.

Connor-Hamby reeled off TKO victories in each of her next two
starts and earned a split decision over Jessica
Hilger in her last MMA bout on April 17, 2010.

Pennington’s start will be her second in the Invicta FC cage. The
24-year-old earned a unanimous decision over Sarah Moras at
the last Invicta FC event on July 28 and, less than six weeks after
that, returned to action in Honolulu, Hawaii where she submitted
Raquel Pa’aluhi with a guillotine choke in the first round (3:52)
of their meeting.

Before her professional debut in March when she scored a second
round (2:25) TKO on Kim Couture
with a series of knee strikes to the body, Pennington enjoyed a
healthy amateur career that spanned three years and saw her amass a
record of 7-1.

Tickets for Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama, priced from $25, are
on sale and can be purchased at Memorial Hall box office (913)
549-4853), online at Ticketmaster.com and InvictaFC.com and by
phone at (800) 745-3000.

In the Invicta FC 3 main event, superstar Jessica
Penne (9-1) of Laguna Hills, Calif. will face off with
undefeated phenom Naho
Sugiyama (8-0) of Kyoto, Japan at atomweight (105 pounds) in
the first-ever Invicta FC women’s world title bout.

About Invicta Fighting Championships: Invicta Fighting
Championships (www.invictafc.com) is a world championship Mixed
Martial Arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female
athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent
basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp and
sports aficionado Janet Martin, Invicta is committed to pioneering
the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible
matchups between female competitors and identifying and developing
future superstars of the sport.